Lately we have had a problem with Coyotes and I want to purchase my first rifle and scare them away by eliminating some of them. We have small dogs that we cannot let outside at night anymore because the Coyotes are within 50 feet from our house.

What rifle would you reccomend? Can I purchase a decent rifle from Wal-mart? How about a Weatherby Vanquard Varmint Special .223 or a Weatherby Vanquard Compact .22-250?

At 50 feet I'd be lighting them up with a 12-gauge with 1 or 4 buck. I'm sure there are a lot of pred hunters in your area that would be happy to come out with their hot-rod 22-250's and help you eliminate the bulk of the problem just for hunting rights on your property.

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"Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that." --Saul Tighhttp://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2...s-no-more.html

A bolt-action .223 or .243 would work just fine for Ol' Wily. And, as said above, if they're regularly within some 30 yards or so, a 12-gauge shotgun with 00 buck and a full choke would also be an answer. Probably do okay with smaller shot, for that matter. I killed a bobcat with 7-1/2 at 25 yards, "dead right there" (DRT)"

Close ranges in daytime, iron sights are fine. If the deal is at night, a scope becomes a necessity. And, a halfway decent three-cell flashlight or better. I hold a flashlight against the forearm of my rifle for night-shooting...

Art

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You're from BATFE? Come right in! I use all your fine products!

If you're going to get a rifle just for coyote hunting, get a light, easy to handle rifle in 223. The Remington Model 7 makes a great coyote rifle, but a Remington 700 is just fine too. Ruger, Savage and others make fine rifle for this purpose. The 223 will put the coyotes down just fine. MI VHNTR

.243 is the best coyote gun in my opinion. It shoots flat, absolutely wallops coyotes at any range and recoils very little. If you can hit the coyote hes a goner. Try calling them in and give a little whistle or something at 200 yards. Theyll stop and you can pelt them.

I am currently shooting coyotes with a .270 but that is a bit of overkill. My next coyote gun will likely be a BAR left-handed .243. Firepower...fast.

A good fast handling gun that you shoot well with a 3-9X scope and a good call is all that is needed to knock off serious numbers of coyotes.

Also, that Savage combo is a great idea! Nice double-duty for home defense as well as predator control and all kinds of hunting. I'd really consider that one if I were in your situation.

__________________
"Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that." --Saul Tighhttp://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2...s-no-more.html

What state are you hunting in? Night shooting is illegal in some states. Check local laws concerning that.

IMO .223 or .243 depending on the availability. .243 will second as a better hunting rifle for deer. A new hunter should use that as a minimum cal. for whitetail. It is more forgiving in the shoulder area than the .223.

If at night is your choice, string a couple of christmas tree lights out about 100 yards from the yard. Perched atop the house, behind the yard lights, you will be able to silouette the coyotes around the christmas tree lights with a scope. One shot is probably all you will get. Good luck.
Allowing some local predator hunters to hunt your place during the day will really help eliminate the pack.

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Teach a kid to respect wildlife, then teach a kid to hunt and fish.

Where's your house? If you're not out in the country, you can forget shooting them. Call your local Fish and Game or whatever it's called where you are.
All Weatherby's are fine rifles, but at Cadillac prices. You'll need to learn how to shoot any rifle first as well.

Let me start by saying that I own both .223 and 22-250's. So I am not picking one over the other for yote hunting. They will both kill my yotes dead - one just does it a bit cheaper than the other.

There was a huge discussion some time back about the .223 being the better long range rifle once you got past a certain yardage. I believe it was around the 4-500 mark. Now I am aware that the 22-250 will shot much flatter out to around 400 yards but past that is where the 22-250 really looses ground.

I am not an expert by any means but maybe some of the guys that truly are expert in long range shooting could explain to us why the .223 is the better for long range cartridge shooting than the 22-250. Maybe I will have to dig up that thread but there was a lot of very useful information in it from people much more skilled than myself. I know that it had something to do with the fact that you could get a heavier bullet and better twist for the .223 than the 22-250.

I am just a hunter who enjoys shooting too so like I said, I'm no expert just looking for some education.

__________________"As the light grows dimmer and the trail begins to fade, my sweetest dreams are those of yesteryear, at deer camp." Author, Jim Slinsky

The heavier bullets retain their velocity, energy and trajectory better over EXTREME long ranges.
By extreme I mean 700 yds. plus.
The .223 55 gr. will shoot flatter than say a .223 69 gr. out to 500-600 yds. but will rapidly lose ground and eventually be surpassed by the heavier bullet, generally speaking.

For 200 yards and closer, a .17HMR. Ammo is cheap, even for the ballistic tips.

For reaching a ways out there (<1000 yards), the .204RUG is my choice.
It has the recoil of a .223 but near same ballistics of the 22-250.
Sight it in one inch high at a hundred yards and at 300 yards the 'zero' is 3 inches down. Everything's in the cross-hair if they are that close.
The ammo is more expensive tho.

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Pondering the differences, terminally, between the V-Max and the A-Max.

I'm still saying .243. Where I am anyway the coyotes are big and since I really dislike coyotes and I dont skin them I like to roll em over when I hit them. If I look in the scope and four feet are in the air after a shot thats good enough for me.

How do you do it? I saw a link once where the guy carried a little piece of 550 with him to tie the back legs together then hang them on a fence post. He had a way of skinning them that looked really fast and easy, but I never bookmarked the site.

Also, anyone know if there are special ways to treat the hide or just treat it like a rabbit?

__________________
"Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that." --Saul Tighhttp://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2...s-no-more.html

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